MALLORCA

The largest of the five main Balearic islands, Mallorca has a reputation as a tourist hotspot for beach-loving sun seekers, but in fact most of the island north and east of its capital Palma is quite tranquil and bucolic, with charming, uncrowded rural landscapes, hamlets and villages. Take the scenic journey on the narrow-gauge railway from Palma to Port de Sóller to explore the Tramuntana mountain ridge, where you can go climbing or hiking, or cycle between wineries across the plain of Es Pla, with its low stone walls and peach and almond orchards.

The arts of viticulture and winemaking on the island go back at least to the Romans, but at the end of the 19th century the vineyards were devastated by phylloxera. Many of them were dug up, and viticulture didn’t really recover until late in the 20th century, when tourist demand for local wines led to the creation of the DOs of Binissalem (1991) on the edge of the Tramuntana, and Pla i Llevant (2001).

‘Cycle between wineries